Baked Firecracker Chicken Tenders
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Super easy Baked Firecracker Chicken Tenders with the most amazing sweet and spicy Asian sauce – plus they’re so much healthier than the fried version!
Want more recipes to try? My Chipotle Chicken, Spicy Parmesan Shrimp Pasta, and Chicken Satay Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce are just a click away!
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy friends. How’s the weekend treatin’ ya?
Gone too fast? I know what you mean.
All week long I fill little colored sticky notes with lists of things I really need/want to get done on over the weekend and then all of a sudden it has come and gone and I find myself scratching my head thinking… what on earth just happened??
A few good things did happen this weekend however.
1) spend an afternoon wandering (lost) around Ikea – our favorite store on earth
2) make a batch of life-changing cookies (coming soooooon!)
3) first trip to buffalo wild wings – oh yeah. that happened.
Overall, I’d call that a weekend well-wasted.
Okay now about these chicken tenders. First thing you’ve gotta know is how crispy-tender-juicy they are and they are NOT FRIED. I just love saying that. They’re baked, not fried and as a true connoisseur of chicken tenders, I do not miss the usual fried ones.
And I’m serious about that connoisseur title – at 7 years old I never wanted pancakes from iHop, just chicken tenders and fries please!
True story. Sixteen years later…
Still a true story.
Annnnnywhoo. The sauce. Let’s talk about ooey gooey sticky sweet and spicy sauces that make you want to cry they are so wonderful.
Actually that pretty much covers it. No talking needed!
And I swear that sauce-splash was candid ^^^ – I did not strategically create it to draw attention to the firecracker-ness of these chicken tenders.
More Recipes to Try
- Bang Bang Chicken Skewers – the ultimate summer grilling crowd-pleaser packed with bold, smoky char and finger-licking flavor.
- Honey Sriracha Chicken – sweet, sticky, and packed with a fiery kick that rivals your favorite takeout spot.
- Spicy Honey Lime Chicken Wings – this is sure to be your go to game-day wing recipe baked to crispy perfection and drenched in an addictive sweet-heat glaze.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Baked Firecracker Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons water
- ⅓ cup flour
Sauce
- ⅓ cup Frank’s hot sauce , (this brand really makes the sauce!)
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes , (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 and grease a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Slice chicken breasts into 1-inch wide strips. Add flour and chicken strips to a large zip-lock bag, seal, and shake to coat chicken.
- Place panko in a bowl. In a second bowl whisk together eggs and water. Dip flour-coated chicken pieces into the egg mixture to coat, then toss in the panko crumbs (make sure to coat well) and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Bake chicken for 15-25 minutes until golden-brown and cooked through. While chicken tenders are baking, prepare the sauce. In a medium sauce pan combine all sauce ingredients. Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then reduce to low and allow to simmer until ready to use.
- When chicken is finished cooking, use tongs to toss chicken tenders in the sauce. Serve warm with ranch dressing if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Soooo good! I used 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins because I had them on hand. Didn’t have Frank’s Red Hot but had Cholula chipotle hot sauce which works wonderfully! My teenage son ate almost the entire batch himself 🙂
Made this randomly with some leftover TENDERLOINS. Holy chicken grail! My Whole house couldn’t get enough! Making again this week!
This is the best chicken ive ever made. so delicious. I used siracha and white vinegar as a substitute for franks hot sauce and apple cider vinegar and it had amazing flavor and heat. thanks for sharing!
can you use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
White wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or lemon juice all substitute nicely for apple cider vinegar 🙂
I am unable to see your recipe. When you click continue reading it bring you back in a loop and never shows it? I’ve made this in the past and it was great! just trying to make it again. (tried from two phones and a computer)
So sorry! That was an error with my site at the time that was not allowing recipes to load correctly. Thanks for your patience!
I made this on the fly with some chicken tenderloins I had that we’re about to expire. During the pandemic of course shelves are empty. They didn’t have panko. Just Italian bread crumbs. I was about to just make the chicken plain and use the sauce for dipping. I tried it with the breading and am so glad I did. Wow! Are these awesome that way as I’m sure the panko is good also. The Italian seasoning made the flavors melt in your mouth. Now I did make it u healthy by heati g up a little canola oil in a skillet and Browning each side before throwing in the oven. Great recipe! One of our new favorites!
So glad to hear yours turned out delicious with the Italian bread crumbs! I might have to try that next time I make this recipe, haha!
I made this for dinner and it turned out DELICIOUS! instead of using Frank’s red sauce, I used Louisiana hot sauce as that’s what I had on hand. My family loved it!
Awesome job!! Happy to hear you family enjoyed this recipe!
I’m making this tonight. Whats a good side dish?
I always whip up a fresh tossed green salad with this recipe!
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/best-simple-tossed-green-salad/
This was very good! The one thing i NoTice about some of these recipes is that they are very vinegar heavy; i dont think ill Make this sauce again but to anyone wanting to make it, just use one tBsp of vinegaR- its more then enough 🙂 otherwise, i will definately make the chicken strIps again with a different sauce; they were verY good!
PS these taste best when they are freshly made, leftovers are Good but no longer crispy 🙂
Thanks for your input! 🙂
I just made this sauce. Omg. The best sauce ever. Put it on everything.
Hi Emily! So happy to hear that you love this sauce! Not gonna lie- I go through spurts of keeping it on hand in my fridge for anything and everything!! 🙂